Short Stackers
by Ayaia of the Moon
Summary: I've been crazy with entering contests lately, and the result is this; a bunch of hundred word drabbles that I have decided to put here. I'll add some sporadically as I hit a mood. Fear of Solitude: Jamie. And Jamie. After the Tornado.
1. Vendetta against essays

He stared at the blank notebook in front of him, uncomprehending and annoyed. Whoever heard of a 100-word essay as an assignment? "Prompt: 100 words arguing the subject of your choice."

Pietro Maximoff grinned in a snarky way. Fine. If they wanted him to write 100 words, that's what he'd do. Grinning, he put his pencil to the paper at last, carefully putting his name and class at the top before quickly penning his argument;

_I protest the writing of 100-word essays, because of the undeniable fact that once I hit my stride writing, I run out of – _


	2. Kitty says hi

Tabby Smith strolled into the brotherhood house at half-past midnight, singing to herself and dropping her things halfhazardly around the room before shrieking in surprise at the imposing figure cut in the darkness that was Lance Alvers.

"Hope you had fun," he said sarcastically, holding out a hand into which Tabby compliantly dropped a set of keys.

"Battery's kinda iffy," she said conversationally.

"I know."

"Sat there stalled for a while."

"You have to – "

"—Turn off the headlights and the radio, then punch the gas when you start."

"How did you –"

Tabby smirked. "Kitty says hi."


	3. Knowledge of the fourth wall

Did you ever feel like you life was being documented or twisted around for the sake of someone else's entertainment? Lately, when I'm watching TV, or even when I'm sleeping or eating, I have this nagging feeling I'm being…watched. Like my life is some play, or bad fanfiction and there are times when I "see the fourth wall."

I can usually console myself. Why would someone want to document my life? I'm just your average guy with your average power over the earth. Why not document Todd? He's fun to twist into submission. He'd be better to spy on.


	4. Making time fly

When Tabby Smith was here – in the Brotherhood house, I mean – life was fun. She had ways of bending things to her will If she wanted Fred to get a haircut, by God, she'd give him one. If she wanted to go somewhere, by God, she'd steal Lance's jeep.

She didn't really _offend_. (She was too likable.) She _did_ get people to do things that they wouldn't have done otherwise. How else would I have taken those four girls to the Sadie-Hawkins dance? The world might not be very fast, but she knew how to make the time fly.


	5. Rogue's Threat

Lance remembered the "conversation" clearly. She'd looked determined…and a little pissed. She'd poked her finger into his chest and talked at him so violently he almost feared for his own life.

"Look, Rocky, Ah know y'all lahke Kitty. And whatever you _think_ you know, think again. Kitty's a good person, and who she wants to go out with is _her_ choice, not Scott's, or Jean's, or anyone else's. God help me if I know why she'd–"

Rogue had shaken her head then. "If y'all hurt her, you deal with me."

And then she'd left; Lance smiling in her wake.


	6. Two Unattainable goals

It's not much to ask, is it? All I want are relatively simple things. Revenge on my scheming father, for one, and that _Toad_ to leave me alone, for another.

Constant hexing and defenestration has done nothing for the little ingrate. All he does is find new ways to irritate and annoy me, though he seems to think his actions will "win my love." Hah. I find him aggravating.

What's sad, though, is that I'm no closer to achieving my first goal. Looking for my father is just as pointless as telling Todd that I won't go out with him.


	7. Blackout

Title: Blackout

Rating: PG13/T

-O-

"I'm going to _kill_ someone."

"…the _hell_?"

"Does someone have a flashlight?"

"Baby cakes! I can't see…"

"TOAD!!"

"Ouch."

"Tell me about it. Toad! You dead?"

"Ow…"

"He's fine."

"Pietro, will you check the fuse box?"

"Why me?"

"Why not you? Go!"

"Make Blob go."

"We could make Todd go."

"Good idea."

"Sweetums, I'm startin' ta think you wanna git ridda me!"

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Todd should go check the fuse box. He can see in the dark, so it makes sense…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Blob…that was…oddly insightful."

"Shut up, Pietro."

"You mean that little worm can see in the dark?"

"Yeah…didn't you know?"

"…"

"Aaagh!!"

"Woah!"

"That sounded pretty painful."

"No! I meant the light!"

"Yeah! Blinding light! Wanda! Light up your hex-bolts again."

"Why?"

"Well, you just killed Toad, and we need someone to check the fuse box."

"Check it yourself, you baby."

"Pietro…why don't you just go check the fuse box yourself? You're fast enough; you could do it in a second…"

"Yeah…Fred's right, Pietro. You aren't…afraid to go outside, are you?"

"No!"

"…"

"…"

"I'm not, okay?!"

"…"

"…"

"Fine. So what if I am? It's creepy out there, and I can't see where I'm going."

"Suck it up, and go, Pietro."

"Why do I have to go?"

"Because you have to face your fears sometime."

"Who are you, my father?"

"Better you go out there and get eaten by monsters or something than us."

"…"

"…"

"Do I have to go?"

"Pietro, if you don't go, I will tie your legs together while you sleep."

"Like you could!"

"You guys…where's Toad?"

"He's dead in the corner somewhere. Why?"

"He's not over here."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty Damn."

"Pietro, go and check the fuse box so we can find Houdini."

"No!"

"Pietro, I am going to count to three…"

"And then what? You're gonna punch me out? Go ahead. That just means one of you will have to find the fuse box yourselves."

"…"

"…"

"Lance…he's gotta point."

"Shut up. We just have to be logical about this…"

"Yeah right, Landslide. You? Logical? Puh-leeze."

"Shut _up_, Pietro."

"Witty comeback. Did you think of that one all by yourself?"

"Leave him alone and let him think, Pietro."

"That could take years! Decades!"

"I swear to God, Pietro –"

"What the –"

"Was it just a blackout?"

"Where's Toad?"

"TOAD!!!"

"Ouch! It was an accident, Poopsie!"

"Right…"

"Toad, where've you been?"

"I was sick of the arguing, yo, so I did my Toad thing and checked the fuse box."

"Which fuse was it?"

"I dunno, someone labeled all the switches wrong. I just turned them all off then turned them back on."

"Well, that's one way to do it."

"Well, I'm bored."

"Why?"

"With the power out, we at least had something to do."

"You wanna trip the circuts again? Be my guest."

"No…that's all right."

"Hey…I've just thought of something…"

"Stop the presses."

"Shut up, Pietro, I'm serious. If a little blackout made us go all crazy…"

"I think I know where this thought is going, Freddy…and I like it."

"What? What's the plan?"

– Later –

"I can't believe you morons talked me into this."

"Come on, Wanda! You know this is fun!"

"Do it!"

"Fine. But if we get caught, I'm going to leave you to the dogs."

"Deal! Now do it!"

"…"

"Hey!"

"What the deal!"

"Ray, I'll kill you!"

"It wasn't me! Honest!"

"Whoever is touchin' mah butt, Ah swear t' God…"

"Sorry…my bad."

"Vhat happened to the lights?"

"Woah! Kurt's eyes really _do_ glow in the dark!"

"See? I told you…"

"…"

"Wanda…isn't it worth it? Just for this?"

"…shut up."

"We need popcorn."

"Agreed."

"Actually…"

"Why am I not surprised? Blob has popcorn."

"No popcorn for you then, Pietro."

"Fine. Sorry. Give me the popcorn."

"TOAD!"

"Sorry pumpkin…it's dark…"

-O-

FIN

-O-

A U T H O R S N O T E

O.O

I entertained a notion like this once before, but it was swept aside. I couldn't resist the urge to try my hand at it again.

I love the dynamic between Toad and Wanda. Oh, the one-sided love!

Random. And weird. But glorious. :D

Ayaia


	8. The Arrival of Spring

After the _incident_, you sit alone in your room, scowling darkly out the window. You are nursing an angry welt on your forearm, maybe two inches long, and you thrust profanities at the chirping birds outside. They have come with the end of winter, and they have brought multi-legged friends. You sneer at the wound, small as it is. It is the final, jeering victory of an insect you didn't even get the pleasure of destroying yourself.

You sigh, trying to sort out your emotions. Prevalent is anger, of course, but this relaxes you. Anger is a nice, familiar emotion for you. Anger is your default mode, and it's certainly easier to vindicate than love or depression. It's just a matter of deciding what is making you angry, then taking care of it. Simple.

You grin as the default answer to your problem floats to the surface of your thoughts. You open your door, not surprised to see Toad skulking there in the hopes that he'd get a glimpse of you. His face melts into fear as yours melts into a wicked grin. You feel immeasurably justified in hexing him through the second-story window; the feeling is multiplied as you hear the little ingrate screeching the whole way down.

That done, you turn your attention once more to the inflamed welt on your arm. Damn bee. Considering the fact that your mutation is, in fact, the act of altering probability fields to bend in your favor, you shouldn't have been stung at all. You also shouldn't have been denied the pleasure of squashing the little hellion yourself, but _no_. Toad had to be…_Toad_, and dispose of the creature on his terms. Or tongue.

You think almost longingly of winter. Setting aside the fact that not even a week ago you hated winter; overlooking the extreme temperature and the ceaseless _snow_, you decide that winter isn't all bad.

Glancing downward out the window, you check the fate that befell Toad. He has gotten up, and is looking in amusement as Lance stirs up the beehive that started this mess. As a casual onlooker, you allow yourself a good, long laugh as the occupants of the hive swarm Lance.

At least you're not down there, you decide, itching the welt on your arm irritably. Todd, having tried to come to the bees' rescue, is now being chased instead of Lance. _That's gratitude_, you scoff. You almost feel sorry for the little worm, but you shove the pity away. Adjusting your mindset to something that is favorable to Toad in _any_ way is strictly taboo.

You shake your head as Toad tries to turn the tables on the insects, unleashing his green tongue in an effort to eat the masses…his high-pitched shriek carries even to your window as he fans his hands over his tongue in an effort to calm the fire that has seemingly erupted there. Your eyes widen, though, as you see his tongue start to visibly swell.

A new tide of anger rises within you. The fact that it is, in fact, an anger that is favorable to Toad is irrelevant as you storm out of the room, down the stairs and outside. You were denied the pleasure of killing that lone bee…now is your chance to take them all out. Ungrateful little shits.

Later, when describing the events to Pietro, Lance and Toad use words like 'deus ex machina' and 'ungodly vengeance.' Well, Lance uses the words, and Toad nods fervently in agreement as his slimy tongue flops uselessly down his front, still swollen. Pietro looks at you with a smirk, and you don't bat an eye.

"I don't like bees," you say in finality, turning to the book you'd been trying to read.

Pietro, to your surprise, doesn't push the issue. Then you see the telltale welts on his forehead and knuckles, indicating that even sheer speed can't defeat a swarm of angry bees.

"Who misses winter?" asks Fred mournfully, rubbing calamine lotion into his massive arms, which had sustained the most stings out of anyone.

All hands go into the air.

-o-

A U T H O R S N O T E

I haven't written anything in forever…I hit this huge slump for some reason, right in the middle of doing the 31-days challenge on my live journal…

It might have been influenced by the removal of my wisdom teeth…most people need 2-3 days to recuperate from that…I needed 4…

anyhoo…I'll keep trekkin' along, trying to finish my works in progress. Meanwhile, here's a random contest entry for the brotherhood club.

:D

Ayaia of the Moon


	9. Fear of Solitude

The worst part of it was not knowing. Not knowing, and hiding there like a baby while the winds raged, faster and fiercer than before, assuring himself that it would be all right, because his mother wasn't there to reassure him.

Not going there, though. Not thinking about it. Just sitting. Not knowing. Something about indolence being bliss? Or was it innocence? He wished he could find his thesaurus. Or something.

He didn't realize exactly how hard he was clenching his fists until he felt something wet start seeping slowly through his fingers – trickles of his own blood. He didn't know how to react to the discovery, so he ignored it. After an eternity, the winds died down. But he stayed where he was, hiding like the baby he was, afraid to find out what had happened. Because as bad as _not_ knowing was, he was hideously afraid that _knowing_ would be worse.

He was shaking something terrible – maybe that's why the first clone accidentally appeared. Far from worrying about accidentally triggering his 'abnormality,' Jamie was grateful for the company. He stopped shaking, at least.

"Are…are we okay?"

Jamie looked himself over, noting that the little cuts he'd made in his palms were less pronounced after making a duplicate. That had happened after his broken arm, too. Took half the time to heal, and the doctors had been amazed.

"I think so."

Jamie looked on in interest as his duplicate looked around. "Is the storm over?"

"I dunno," Jamie answered…himself.

"Where…Where's Mom and Dad?"

"I dunno," Jamie whispered again, paling slightly. This was what he'd avoided thinking about.

"D'you…d'you think…"

"Let's not talk about that."

"Okay."

"I'm….I'm scared…"

"Me too…"

Jamie laughed uneasily. "That's kind of obvious, isn't it?"

Jamie and his duplicate laughed nervously. It was better than thinking about anything. It seemed to help the dread in his stomach, too.

"Are…are we hungry?"

"Not if it means leaving the cellar," Jamie answered himself firmly. "We have enough food to last a while."

"Unless we both eat it…"

"We're the same stomach, genius."

"But it'd be like stuffing yourself twice!"

"Oh. I didn't think about that."

"D'you think someone will come and get us?"

"Definitely. We just have to wait here."

"And when we get hungry, we should probably just…you know. Be one person."

"I...I don't wanna be alone."

"…me neither."

They fell into silence, and eventually, drifted uneasily to sleep. Original and clone never parted contact with one another; fear of solitude ensured it.


End file.
